


Not-So-Fantastic One Shots & Where to Find Them

by foreignlines



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, One Shot, idk what this is, just a compilation, mostly in english but there's also filo stuff, of oneshots ig??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-07 11:09:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20308489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foreignlines/pseuds/foreignlines
Summary: these are all my one shots from twitter requests ha ha ha ha





	1. HELLO WELCOME!!!

Just a quick author's note: I'm trying to practice my writing once again & I have a sudden burst of energy so I'm going to write down some short one shots from my oomfs' requests lolol & these probably have errors here & there. Regardless I still hope you enjoy my writing sksksks ok anyway! Let's go!


	2. Falling for U

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joshua meets up with his long-time crush, Aria, at a cafe, and things take a turn from there. (ENG)

> _2:45PM._

"Shua-hyung, I'm pretty sure you've put enough cologne," Chan complains as the older got ready inside their shared bathroom.

Jeonghan snickers as he leans back on the couch, sneaking a glance over to Joshua. "Your date isn't for another hour and a half, and the cafe's right across the street. Why the huge rush?" 

"It's not a date," Joshua ever so obviously struggles to lie.

Then, Seungcheol pipes up without looking up at his phone. "If it isn't a date, then why are you bathing yourself in cologne in ironed pants and clean sneakers?" Cheol shuts off his phone to raise his eyebrows at Joshua, who was busy fixing his hair in front of the mirror. "It's totally a date. If it was just a short coffee run, he wouldn't even take a shower." As gross as that sounded, it was true.

By the time Joshua was done getting ready, everyone at the dorm had already figured out that their beloved Shua-hyung was, in fact, going on a date, no matter how hard he tried to deny it.

"Who is it this time?" Hansol asks, poking fun at him.

"No one," says Joshua as he reaches for his white bag. He wasn't really planning on saying who it is, not because he was embarrassed of her, but he just didn't want to get teased. However, Seungkwan was quick to check Joshua's social media. "Oh..._Aria, _huh?" He looks at him cheekily, and the older's skin turned from a bronze-y, golden shade to a light pink hue. This confirms Seungkwan's suspicions, making the others laugh out loud. Seungkwan pats his back rather harshly as he leads him out of the door.

"Okay, hyung! We got it. Have fun at your date!" says Seungkwan.

"Wait!" Jeonghan calls out. He checks on his best friend's appearance and fixes him up a little. "Breath check," he says, and Joshua shamelessly breathes onto Jeonghan's face. 

"Wow, you even brushed your teeth!" Jeonghan joked.

_"Jesus,"_ said Joshua, hitting Jeonghan before he walks off. The other boys snickered behind the door as they saw him off.

* * *

> _3:15PM._

So, Joshua w_as _a tad bit early for his...date. He sits by his favorite spot by the window at the corner, where he can see all the plants that were lined up on one part of the sidewalk. Soft, mellow music played in the background as Joshua waited for Aria, and he begins to calculate everything inside his mind. _Is she the type to pay for herself, or do I pay for the both of us? What if she didn't dress up as much as I did? What if I'm just overthinking this entire thing and she just actually likes me as a friend and nothing else and I'll end up old and alone and still stuck with Jeonghan with thirty cats inside the house? What if-_

"Joshua?"

He jumps up at the sound of her voice, but he plays it cool. Well, kind of. "A-Aria! Hi." He stands up, not knowing what to do next. He's taken by surprise once the girl goes in for a hug, and his ears immediately turn red as he instinctively returns the gesture.

"Am I late?" she asks, worried. Joshua pulls out the chair across his smoothly for her, and he assures her, "No, you're not. You're perfect."

_Silence. _Aria looks at him with an amused smile.

_Wait. What did he just say?_

Joshua clears his throat. "Um, I mean, y-your timing. It's okay. You're not too late," he says, feeling a little choked up. _Whoooo, boy. When did it get twice as hot in here?_

Aria giggles. "I'm glad. So, uh, should we order?"

He nods a bit too eagerly, but Aria doesn't seem to mind how much of an idiot he's making himself look like right now. "I'll take your order for you. What do you want?"

"Just a milkshake and some cake, would be fine," she says, then she takes out her wallet to hand him some cash.

"W-wait," says Joshua. "It's okay, I'll pay for you, too."

"That wouldn't be fair, now, would it?" asked Aria. "Come on, I insist. Let's split the bill." As much as Joshua wanted to be the gentleman he was making himself out to be, he doesn't want to pressure or burden Aria, so he asks her one more time, "You sure it's okay?"

She smiles sweetly. "Yes, Josh. It's fine," she says as she takes out an amount that was enough for her order.

"Okay," Joshua says, exhaling deeply. "Okay, I'll just return the change to you if there is any." Aria nods before Joshua takes off to the counter.

Why was he so _nervous?_

* * *

> _6:30PM._

Joshua had finally loosened up throughout the entire date, which just consisted of walking around the city, seeing a movie, and having another meal at a cafe, but this time it was near Aria's place so that he could easily walk her home. Once it was time to go and take Aria back to her apartment, they walk a lot slower, as if neither of them wanted the date to end. For a while, they only walked around the neighborhood in silence as the two of them look up at various things that caught their attention.

His aimlessly wandering mind begins to short-circuit again once he feels Aria's smaller hand around his.

"Here," says Aria.

"H-what?" asked Joshua.

Aria tugs on his hand. "You're going the wrong way, Josh. My apartment's over here." She points to the tall, white building right across the street that they were in. _Oh._

"Right," says Joshua, clearing his throat. He lets go of her hand and suddenly leads the way just so he could open the door for her.

"Thanks," Aria says with a smile. She stops at the lobby and looks at Joshua, her smile only growing bigger as he approaches her. "I really had fun today, Joshua. Thanks for taking me out, I feel a lot more relaxed compared to the previous days."

He couldn't help but smile at that. "It was a pleasure to go out with you, Aria."

She doesn't say anything else, and leans forward. Joshua leans closer, because he totally thought that she was just going to whisper something in his ear. His heart rate goes up again when he feels her lips press against her cheek before she gives him another hug. Overjoyed, he hugs her back, and even got the confidence to ask her if he could kiss her cheek, too. "Of course you can," she says. "We're dating, aren't we?"

"We-" His words got cut off by Aria's giggle. _How could Joshua be this stupid?_

"-Yeah! Yeah, totally," says Joshua as if he _totally _knew that. "So, does that mean I'm allowed to ask you out on another date?"

"Yes, definitely," says Aria. "Next weekend?"

"I'd love that," Joshua answers before kissing her cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long story short sobrang dense ni joshua i cAnNOT BELIEVE


	3. Lost in Japan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cherry only has 48 hours in Tokyo, and she spends it with a somewhat kind and helpful stranger she met in a bar. (ENG)

Despite it being close to the wee hours of the morning, Cherry still had enough energy to haul her ass over to the nearest bar. She only had forty-eight hours to spend in Japan, so why not spend it to the fullest, right? 

Upon entering the bar, she was surprised to find how many people are still in there, having the time of their lives and getting wasted. The music wasn't as loud as she'd hoped, but it was probably turned down to give a little consideration to the people that were already too drunk to dance. She makes herself comfortable on a lone stool by the bartenders, where she was hoping that she wouldn't get much attention. She just wanted to see if she could down a glass of rum cola in under thirty minutes before she goes back to her Airbnb suite and binge on some chips or something while she watched whatever weird variety show was on TV.

However, the moment she got her drink, she already knew that things weren't already gonna go to plan as a much older looking man approaches her.

"I can get you another one when you're finished with that," said the burly stranger. 

"I'm good with just one," says Cherry as she sips on her drink.

"You sure? You'd probably need two so you can get your pretty little self on that dance floor with me," he responds. This disgusts Cherry, and she turns to ignore him. She then comes face to face with another stranger by the end of the long table. He'd been busy making friends with the bartenders, but the moment she turned, she had his full attention. The other man, who seemed to be in his mid-20s, immediately caught onto the situation that Cherry was in. "Come on, doll," she hears the original man that he saw say to her as he switched seats, so now they were facing each other.

"I said I'm okay with just one drink, and I don't want you to bother me anymore, okay?" she says. "Please leave me alone."

The creep was about to say something else when the other stranger approaches them. "Hey, _Gwen! _Is that really you?!" His laugh echoes through his chest as he becomes rather friendly with Cherry, catching her off-guard. "A bunch of our other friends saw you here and wanted to see you!" Cherry catches on to whatever this stranger was doing, and this flustered the creepy guy.

"_Richard, _oh my God!" says Cherry. "Long time no see!" She gets her drink, to run off with _Richard, _but he looks at the creepy guy strangely and tells Cherry, "Listen, _Monica's _suuuuper drunk and she needs help getting out of the bar, is it okay to ask for your hand? I'll treat you to another drink next time, I promise!"

"But I-" _Richard _immediately whisks her away from the creep, leaving both him and her expensive drink behind. They plow through the large crowd and they finally settle down on a spot beside the bar's entrance. "I saw him put something in your drink. It was too risky," says _Richard. _

"You know my name isn't really _Gwen, _right?" Cherry says.

"And I'm not _Richard, _either," the stranger replies.

"Thanks for saving me, though," says Cherry with a relieved sigh.

"No worries. I feel really bad about taking you away from your drink, though, so maybe I can treat you to something? Like, a beer or some noodles?"

Cherry puts a hand over her stomach. "Ooooh," she says. "Udon would be great."

"Okay!" says _Richard. _"I know a place."

He starts to walk, and Cherry was about to follow him when she realizes something. "Wait, how do I know that you're not going to try to drug me, either?"

_Richard _stops in his tracks. "I just saved you from getting drugged, _Gwen._ And I'm not that kind of person. All of my one-night stands are consensual, not like that guy, probably." Cherry gets taken aback by his bluntness, but it makes her laugh. It makes him sound a lot more credible than before.

"Alright, then, _Richard. _I don't have that much time, so let's go to that noodle place."

* * *

It wasn't too long of a walk, since you got there in under ten minutes. The lady in the counter seems to know who _Richard _was-it probably meant that he was a regular there-as she greets him with a warm smile. People were already inside the place, but they seemed to be well-rested and ready to begin their day, while Cherry and her new-found companion were just about to end theirs. "Do you mind if I order for you?" asked _Richard. _

"No, not at all," says Cherry. She looks over to the menu and sees that they carry Asahi, so she tells him, "Except the beer-please get me an Asahi in can."

"Okay," he says. He raises his hand and tells the younger waitress their order in straight up Japanese-Cherry could tell that _Richard's _been living here for a while, but not enough for him to sound like a native. She was curious about him all of a sudden, so after their order was taken, she begins to question him.

"Are you a local here?"

"Mmm. Not really. I've just been here a while," he says. "My turn to ask you shit. You said you didn't have that much time. Why'd you say so?"

"I only have two days to go around here before I actually get to my destination. I'm visiting family in the States." _Richard _pours them both a cold glass of water for the time being as he takes in what she had just told him. 

"Like I said, I've been here a while," he says, pushing a small stainless glass in front of her. "So I know some of the best spots around here. You got a transit pass?"

"Yeah," says Cherry. "It's loaded, too."

"Good," says _Richard. _"After this, I'll take you home."

Cherry nearly chokes on her water. "What did you just-?"

_Richard _snickers. "I mean back to your place. Pack enough shit, rest a little. I'll wait for you at the train station."

"What for?"

"What do you think? You said you only had two days to go around, so I'm doing you a little favor by becoming your tour guide."

Your noodles and your beer come in, and the first thing he grabs ahold of was the alcohol. "You really are a ballsy dude, _Richard._"

* * *

For some reason, Cherry felt like she could actually trust this strange man. The taller, ghostly-looking man takes a look around the apartment that you rented as you took your jacket off before hitting the lights open. "You're all alone, too?" he asks her.

"Yeah," she answers, sitting on the small couch near the bed. They had more than a couple cans that eventually turned into bottles for the rest of the morning, and people looked at them strangely, because who the fuck drank alcohol in broad daylight, right?

"Let's meet at the station after an hour or two, yeah?" asked _Richard. _

"You're only giving me two hours go to sleep?!"

"Hey, you're lucky you're getting two. I'm only gonna get one."

"Fuck, fine, whatever," Cherry says as she slumps back onto the couch. The last thing she hears was _Richard _closing the lights again before he says, "Good night, princess!"

* * *

And as she would have expected, she was late. She wasn't going to be surprised if _Richard _had already left or gave up on waiting for her.

But to her surprise, a familiar ghostly figure loomed over one of the benches near the boarding areas. His eyes were closed, and his hoodie was covering most of his face. As Cherry approached him, she noticed how nice his features actually were. His lips were plump and had a natural red tint, his cheekbones were high and his eyelashes were so long that it touched his skin. Dare she say it, _Richard _was actually handsome.

She pushes the thought away as she hits the sleeping man with her purse. "Sheesh, you're so easy to rob!"

"Hey!" he grumbles as he ruffles his own hair in frustration. "Good morning to you, too, _Gwen._"

The train to the second station comes by, and Cherry stands up. "Come on, let's go!"

"You have way too much energy for somebody who's only had two hours of sleep," said _Richard._ He grumbles behind her as they fell in line to get inside.

* * *

_"Richard, you fucking idiot!" _Cherry yells in frustration. They had missed a number of stations because one of them had fallen asleep, and now they seemed to have landed in the wrong city. From Tokyo, they had ended up in fucking _Osaka. _"I told you that I was going to sleep again, and you should wake me up when we're on the next station."

"I've been up all night, okay? I'm sorry," says _Richard _as they walk out of the train. "But the good news is, I know this place like the back of my hand. The first time I got here, this was the first city I lived in. Let's go."

Cherry didn't really expect him to take me to the fanciest places, since she didn't really think he could be that rich. She expected flea markets, lots of street food, and shabby boutiques. But a line of fancy cafes and restaurants came her way, and all of them looked expensive. It felt like she was in New York, her original destination before her flight got pushed back because she was, of course, _late. _"Here," says _Richard _as he guides her to a fancy-looking cafe. "We should probably eat first before going around," he says.

"This place looks expensive," says Cherry. "I only have-"

"I got it," he says. "Just order whatever you want."

Well, she can't really say no to free food, so order away she does.

After a hefty brunch, he then takes her to Harukas, one of the tallest buildings in Japan. _Richard _babbles further about the structure, as if he really was her tour guide, and they reach the topmost floor where tall windows covered the entire area, giving everyone who went there a good view of the entire city. Cherry pulls out her camera and starts to take pictures, and she takes one of _Richard, _too.

"It's not nice to take pictures without their permission," he says jokingly. "And that wasn't my best angle. Come on, try again." He poses exaggeratedly, making Cherry laugh out loud. 

"You're so annoying," she says, but she takes a photo of him anyway. She laughs again once she sees the preview, and he takes the camera from her hands.

"Here, I'll take one of you." She doesn't really know how to pose for the camera, so she just looks off into the distance. The sun was hitting her eyes, so she closes them as _Richard _took a snap.

"Wow, you're pretty," she heard him mumble.

"What was that?" she asks.

_Richard _gets flustered. "Nothing, nothing. Come on, we're losing daylight! We still have a lot of places to go to."

* * *

A number of museums, parks, and more tall buildings later, Cherry and _Richard _were finally back to were they started--back to the fancy strip of boutiques, restaurants, and bars.

"They serve rum cola at the bar across the station. You want to get one before we hop back on the train?"

It was a little sad that their journey ended that quickly, despite it feeling like an eternity to get to each destination. A drink to end the night would be more than enough. They go inside the noisy bar, and got down to business immediately. They talked about their most favorite part of the day, and _Richard _answers first.

"The part where we got to the top of the ferris wheel! Man, I wanted to go back up again just so I can take in that view!"

"I've had enough of heights for today. I'm even lucky to get through a sixteen-hour plane ride every year," says Cherry as she took a sip of her drink. "I liked the parks, though. Each one brought me different vibes. And at least I was on the ground." _Richard _laughs at her as she talked, not because she looked funny or anything, but it was just really fun to hear her talk and just...say things. The two of them had really bonded for the past day or so, and he wished to keep in touch.

"You should come back so we can explore more," says _Richard. _

Cherry raises her eyebrows. "You wanna see me again?"

_Richard _lets out an exaggerated laugh. "In your dreams. I just need an excuse to use my transit pass more."

The two of them laugh over their drinks, and they turn serious for a split second as they locked eyes with each other. Cherry feels a strange surge of emotions course through her during that split second, as if someone had lit a spark inside of her. 

* * *

It was finally time to head back to Tokyo, and they both brace themselves for another six or so hours of travel. By the time they got back, the sun has already begun to rise, and the two of them still felt a little hazy because of the drinks that they had. They walked from the station to Cherry's temporary apartment, and she wobbled quite a few times. _Richard _caught her every time she lost her balance, and she only laughs it off as she pushes past him.

They reach her place again, and _Richard _was actually pretty sad to see her go in a few hours. But he needed to let her rest, so back onto the streets he goes.

"Wait," says Cherry, still in a slightly drunken haze. She approaches him before she wraps her arms around him. She then took in his scent as she holds him tightly. It was as if she knew him for a long time already, despite only meeting him the day prior to this crazy adventure. "Thank you."

He wraps his arms around her as he embraces her tightly, too. He wasn't sure why they were doing that, but he was glad that they were.

"You know," he says. "You're the first girl I took to see the entirety of Osaka with."

Cherry pulls away slightly, but her arms were still around his neck. His hands rested comfortably around her waist as she chuckles. "Is that supposed to make me feel special?"

"Does it make you feel special?" he asks her. 

She smiles. "Yeah, kind of."

_Richard _nibbles on his lips as he thought of something to say.

"Don't do that," she whines.

"Do what?" he asks as he bit his lip again without much thought.

"_That._"

"Why not?" he asks.

"It makes me want to kiss you," Cherry says, making him all flustered. She moves closer to him, causing his heart rate to flare up ever so slightly.

Needless to say, they did more than just kiss for the rest of the wee hours of the morning.

* * *

Cherry wakes up hours later to find Richard beside her, and neither of them had clothes on. Her head hurt, and she looks at the clock-there were only two hours left before her flight left for New York. "Shit," she swore under her breath as she grabbed her underwear and the shirt that laid next to it. She realized that it was Richard's when she felt it hang onto her loosely, but she was rushing too much to even notice.

She packs as fast as she could, and he wakes up the moment she zips her suitcase up. He tosses over to the bed, sighing sadly. After throwing on his jeans, he wraps his arms around Cherry. "Can I take you to the airport?"

She leans back over to him as he presses a kiss on her cheek. "Sure, you can."

After around thirty minutes of preparing, they hail a cab to the airport. _One hour left._

Even though they walked hand in hand towards the entrance as if they'd been lovers for a long time, there was one thing that they'd both forgotten to ask each other: their names. They'd given each other their numbers and their deepest darkest secrets, but neither of them ever thought of asking what their names were.

_"Richard."_

He takes her face in one of his hands as he kisses her again. "That is seriously the dumbest name someone could ever give me. It's _Seungcheol._"

"Okay, well, it's not _Gwen, _either. It's _Cherry._"

"Seems fitting, since you tasted like it last night," Seungcheol jokes, earning another blow on the arm from Cherry.

The flights get announced again, and she knew she had to go immediately.

"Just message me when you can, okay? I really do want to see you again," he says, stroking her cheek.

"Of course, I will," she says, biting on her lip. "So do I."

"Hey," he says. "Stop doing that, or I'm not going to stop kissing you if you don't."

Cherry laughs again and kisses him for a long time before they finally separate. He blows a cheesy kiss through the window once she was finally inside, and the end of her crazy journey in Japan with Seungcheol finally comes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i got so attached to this story shutakels


	4. Looking Glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before Harley Kwon was even born into this world, there was Soonyoung, and his dance instructor named Jessica, and their humble beginnings. (ENG)
> 
> (a mini-prequel to one of the side-ships on my Seokmin AU!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is set in japan again so be ready for sum weeb shit

For Soonyoung's birthday that year, he didn't expect anything more, nor did he expect anything less. It all went according to plan: his younger sister, Mini, Seokmin, and Seungkwan surprised him with their mother with a cake at 12AM, and they shared it with a few bottles of beer and karaoke. Soonyoung felt a lot more blissful that year for some reason but he wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe he was just tipsy considering he did drink quite a lot of beer by the end of the night.

As Seokmin clears up and Seungkwan takes Mini back up to her room, Soonyoung and his mother finally get a moment alone with each other. "Are you ready for part two?"

"Huh?" Soonyoung asks. "Part two?"

"I felt like I pressured you too much to pursue your Architecture degree," she begins to say. "But since I know you've done more than enough for me, I'll let you live your dream. I know you've always wanted to go to this specific place, but we couldn't have afforded it...and now we can."

Soonyoung was still confused, but he still let his mother talk. She pulls something out of her pocket. A plane ticket to Japan, plus another thing tucked behind it. 

She hands him the two things in her hand and Soonyoung takes a look at the other leaflet. It turns out that it was a pass to one of the most prestigious dance studios in Japan.

"Wh-wait..." says Soonyoung, baffled. "How did you get the money for this?"

"I've worked my entire life and I just now got the time to rest, and I'm still getting paid. I have no idea what to do with my money anymore, so I'm giving most of it to you and your sister. I've pestered you enough to study, so now go ahead and enjoy yourself. Your allowance is on me, too."

He wasn't sure what caused his sudden urge of emotions-was it the amount of love he had for his mother, or was it the excessive volume of beer that sat in his stomach? Whatever it was, it made him tear up and go forward to his mother so he could hug him. "Mama, thank you so much!" He sees his younger sister peek through the door, obviously aware of where he was about to go soon. "Mini, come here," he says, beckoning to the younger woman.

She doesn't say anything and joins their group hug.

* * *

A week later, Soonyoung departs his home country to stay in Nagoya for the time being while he trained in the dance studio. Apparently, the pass that he'd submitted to the receptionists was one of the most expensive passes that earned him many perks like his own room to stay in as a trainee, a coupon to one of the bath houses in the vicinity, and even a transit pass. _Mama never fails to surprise me, _he thought as he shook his head. He follows the man in the front desk to the elevator so that they could see the room that he was going to stay in.

The elevator goes up from the basement to the top floor, and the doors open to reveal a girl with her light brown hair tied up, and her cheeks all flushed. She immediately greets the man beside Soonyoung in Japanese, and he chuckles to himself as he follows. _She's cute._

"Where are you off to, Jessica-san?" asked the man beside Soonyoung.

"To my room," said Jessica-san. "I want to rest before my classes."

The elevator makes a sound, signaling that they have reached their floor. It surprises Soonyoung that he shares a floor with this very cute girl.

The man halts him as he lets Jessica-san pass. "Before anything else, please call me Kenji-san. If you need anything, you may contact me through the phone that is in your room. Your schedule will also be posted on your door shortly." _Does everyone's name here ends with '-san'? _

Kenji-san leads him to his room, finally, and it was a lot bigger than he expected. "I'm all alone here?" he asked.

"Yes," says Kenji-san. "Make yourself at home as you'll be training here for a while, yes?"

He nods at the taller man. "U-uh..._arigatou gozaimasu._"

Kenji-san laughs. "You need to work on your pronunciation, boy."

* * *

His first task on his schedule was report back to the receptionists to claim his transit pass and his I.D. card for the studio, before he's allowed to go out to have a meal. Since he's still settling down, his first day of training will begin tomorrow, first thing in the morning. He just hopes that he wakes up on time.

After claiming the things he needed, he goes off to dinner to one of the nearest places at the studio, since he can't afford to get lost on his first day. As he goes out, somebody calls out for some guy named _Tora. _"Tora-san!" someone kept repeating. When it became relentless, he finally turns his back to see that it was Jessica-san calling out to her. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch your name earlier and I thought you looked like a tiger-"

"Wait, slow down, please," says Soonyoung. "I don't speak Japanese."

"Oh!" says Jessica-san. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She bows at him for a number of times, and he starts to feel awkward. "It's okay, it's okay," he says, hoping that she'd stop. "What were you saying earlier?"

"I called you _Tora-san _because I didn't know your name, and since you look like a tiger..."

"O-oh..." says Soonyoung. That was really funny--because he did get that a lot. Especially when he was a lot chubbier than before. He remembers being compared to a tiger cub all the time. "Uhm. I'm Soonyoung. Call me that instead."

"Okay!" she says cheerfully. "So, uh, where were you headed, Soonyoung?"

"Over there," he says as he points to one of the restaurants about a block away.

"Oh, no, that was my mistake during my first day here," says Jessica-san. "I got food poisoning the next day, and so did the other students. I hear they always reuse the soup from the previous days."

"Then why the hell would it still be up there?" he wonders.

Jessica-san looks around and clears her throat as she moves closer to Soonyoung. "The owner of the land has an affair with the restaurant's manager, so..." Soonyoung wrinkles his nose at this. That was one of the most pathetic excuses he's ever heard to keep up a business.

"Where do you suggest I eat, then?" asked Soonyoung.

"There's a ramen place not too far from here, either. That's where I'm headed right now," she says. "Do you want to tag along?"

"Oh, I might disturb you and your friends..."

"Nah," says Jessica-san. "I'm all alone tonight, and some company would be nice."

This all feels like a fever dream to Soonyoung. His mother accepts that he wants to dance more than have a title in Architecture, so she flies him to the fanciest place in Japan where he also meets the most adorable girl he's ever laid his eyes on, and they're about to have dinner with each other. He smiles at Jessica-san. "Then, okay...I'll go."

* * *

His interest in Jessica-san grew overnight when he learns that she teaches the younger members of the studio how to dance, and she has certain schedules where she'd teach some adult-aged dancers as well. He remembers his own schedule, too, and he tries to remember everything that Jessica-san was saying. By the looks of it, he only has one training day with her, which was coded as "Choreography 101".

For some reason, he also wanted to get into "Pair 101," whatever that meant, just so he could see her twice a week instead of just once. He'll have to ask how he can get into that class, too, and if it was possible, of course.

Jessica-san also treats him to one bottle of beer before they go back to the studio's dorms, and they didn't realize that it was already late when they got back. "I'll see you in the morning, Tora-san!" says Jessica-san before they separate in the hallway again.

* * *

The first day of training was a little rough, since the first class didn't push through with the dancing right away. The _sensei _was more focused on their stamina before they were asked to actually showcase their dancing skills. He impresses his sensei with his stamina, so to challenge him even more, he was asked to dance with leg weights. His co-teacher warns him about something, possibly something along the lines of, _"Hey, man, go easy on him since it's his first day and not to mention his first class and he might get hurt if he does this," _but the main teacher swats him away.

The leg weights were pretty light, so he didn't mind it too much. The music begins and he still catches up with the tempo of the song despite the weight on his legs, however, when he ends his song, he messes up and lands on the wrong foot. Soonyoung lands harshly and he yelps in pain, but he plays it off and stood up again. The co-teacher then swears and tells the other teacher, _"I fucking told you!"_

"I'm sorry," says Soonyoung. The co-teacher looks more concerned with Soonyoung than the main teacher does. "I'm really sorry, I won't mess up anymore-"

"You," says the co-teacher. "It is fine. [It's] Your first day... I should have done more to stop this from happening. I'm sorry as well, Soonyoung."

_"See, this is what happens when you want to show off too much," _says the main teacher to the students. The co-teacher glares at his colleague as he removes the weights from Soonyoung's legs.

_"I think he is naturally a good dancer," _says the co-teacher. _"Everyone, you see how Soonyoung worked hard? You should do that as well. Face every challenge that's been given to you as if it's your last." _He wasn't sure what he was saying, but he was sure that it was much better than what the main teacher was saying. He was then helped up, and he yelled again when it hurt to put his weight on his feet. _Shit, did I sprain both of them?_

"What is the matter, Soonyoung?" asked the co-teacher. "Which foot hurts more?"

"Both," he cries.

_"Weak," _says the main teacher.

A dancer with the name _Adachi Yuto _stands up to speak against the main teacher. _"Sir, with all due respect, I admire Soonyoung for taking on your challenge. However, this is too much, You did not only doubt him, but you also belittled his skills. And when he fell down, you only belittled him more instead of letting it slide. I do not want to talk back, sir, I really don't, and I do not know how this school or how you teachers work yet, but I know that this is wrong."_

Yuto then goes up to the co-teacher to help Soonyoung and the three of them finally step out of the room to take him to the infirmary.

Little does Soonyoung know that Jessica-san had seen them, but she didn't want to interfere. She'll just check on him once she's done with her classes.

* * *

Once Soonyoung was all patched up and put into a wheelchair so he could go back to his room, he couldn't help but feel a sense of shame. He falls hard on his first day, and now he has to skip a week because of his injury. He's never felt so weak.

Yuto didn't speak any English, so Soonyoung had a hard time talking to him. It was a good thing that he was better with actions than words, though. For an entire week up until the last three days, Yuto made sure that he didn't skip any meals, and that he had his checkups regularly in the infirmary. One foot recovered faster than the other, too, but that meant burdening Yuto even less now that he can finally put some of his weight on one leg.

On the fourth day of his recovery, Jessica-san visits him and asks him how he is. She even stayed to entertain him for nearly the entire day because her classes ended earlier than she expected in the morning. By the end of probably the fourth Disney movie that they watched, Jessica-san falls asleep on his shoulder, and he was more than happy with the feeling of it.

* * *

Soonyoung was finally back the next week, but the teachers told him to go easy with his dancing since he was newly recovered.

The teacher who had done this to him was immediately terminated after the incident between the two of them, so now it was just the teacher that helped him out. What excited Soonyoung more that day apart from finally being back on track was the fact that he was finally going to get in Jessica-san's class that morning.

With every class that he attended, he never failed to impress at least three or four people with how fast he could pick up all of the past lessons that week, especially since he didn't speak much Japanese.

At the end of the third class, Yuto caught up with Soonyoung. "You...going to Jessica-san['s] class?"

Soonyoung smiles at his new friend. "Yes, you too?"

"Yes," says Yuto. "Let's go..._issho ni...?_"

"Uhm, together?" asked Soonyoung.

"Yes!" Yuto responds. "You study Japanese now?"

"Sometimes," says Soonyoung. They walk together towards the Choreography 101 room, where they both see Jessica-san and one other teacher warming up with each other.

His jaw drops at the sight of Jessica-san, and Yuto notices right away. "Hey, Soonyoung. _Burei. _Don't stare," he whispers to him as he laughs at how flabbergasted Soonyoung looks.

* * *

_"Good job, Yuto!" _Jessica-san praises Soonyoung's friend.

When it was Soonyoung's turn to dance, Jessica-san stops him first. "Hey, are you sure you can dance already?"

"Yes, Jessica-san," says Soonyoung, making her laugh. She stops herself before anyone else notices that she was laughing. She whispers to him, "You can just call me Jess. No need for formalities. _But only outside the classroom._"

Soonyoung gulps. "Okay," he whispers back before he does a stupid spin as he says. _"Okay, teacher, I am ready!" _in full Japanese, making Yuto curl up in one corner in embarrassment.

Compared to the previous students who danced to fast and upbeat songs, Soonyoung performs a slow, lyrical choreography to Before You Exit's _Looking Glass._

"Oh, wait, before I start..." Soonyoung pulls his phone out and bows to Jess before handing it to her. "Is it okay if you film me? I just want my family back home to see it." Jess gives him a warm smile.

"Of course," says Jess as she positions herself at the center of the room.

She presses record once the song begins to play, and Soonyoung immediately captures the attention of everyone inside the room. He couldn't really see it at first, but when Soonyoung made eye contact with Jess, he could see the faint smile that formed on her lips as he danced.

The song ends, and everyone cheers for him. _"Good job, Tora-kun!" _says Jess.

_"Thank you, Jessica-san!" _he says a little too loudly, making Yuto suffer from secondhand embarrassment again.

* * *

Soonyoung was once again allowed to go back out of the studio to have dinner after some time, but he didn't go out without Jess. As the days wore on, the two grew more fond with each other. They made it a routine to meet each other every night to get ramen or whatever dish they felt like getting. Apart from that, he would also learn Japanese from her, and he's gotten good over time to the point where he could order things by himself now.

This would be totally useful if he were to take his family here. Someday.

As they walked back home, he saw that Jess was getting kind of cold, so he takes his coat off to put it around her. Someone sees them, and lo and behold, it's the teacher that got fired after Soonyoung's injury.

_"Jessica-san. You do know that being too friendly with one of your own students is prohibited, right?" _

_"Sir," _Soonyoung says. _"How can you say that I'm being too friendly with my own teacher when all I did was give her protection from the cold?"_

_"You really have no respect," _says the older man.

_"Hey, he is telling the truth!" _Jess quips.

_"Both of you! So disrespectful," _says the former teacher. _"You do know that I still have inside connections with this studio. You'll be kicked out first thing in the morning once they found out what you've done to forsake your place in this prestigious studio."_

He wasn't exactly sure anymore with what he was saying, but the look on Jess' face shocked him. _"Please, no. I've worked hard to earn my place here and this place is the only thing I have..."_

_"You should have thought of that before getting involved with your student." _And with that, the man was off.

Jess begins to tear up in frustration. "He says that he has inside connections with the studio, and he'll have us removed immediately."

"You know that son of a bitch is all just talk, right?" Soonyoung says. He attempts to comfort her, not caring who'll see. "Jessica-san. Jess. Hey. Look at me."

"It's all gonna be gone when I get kicked out," says Jess.

"Stop, hey," he gets closer to her and tells her. "We can't tell for sure that it'll happen, okay?"

"I know that guy. He'll _make _it happen. I'm already preparing myself."

Soonyoung thinks long and hard about it, but he knew she wasn't going to like his idea. At least not at first. "I-if the both of us do get kicked out tomorrow morning, maybe we can fly back to my hometown and...you can start over from there? With me? My family and I will help you get back up on your feet."

Jess' sobbing reduces to small sniffles now. "I don't want to be a burden-"

"You won't," says Soonyoung. "I promise you. We'll take care of you. _I'll _take care of you. Okay?"

Jessica says nothing else and hugs Soonyoung. They hear the doors of the studio open and Kenji-san yells at the both of them.

_"...Hey! That isn't allowed!"_

* * *

> _And on the morning of February 14, 2021, both Soonyoung and Jessica finally boarded on the flight back to the Philippines._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayun alam nyo na kung bakit parang biglaan...choarles biglaan lang din tong mini-prequel na 'to HAHAHA


	5. Paper Thin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihoon finally gives Ara a chance at producing her own song. (ENG)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the song used is 'paper thin' by astrid s. stan her pls

_"You said you'd finally teach me to produce, Jihoon."_

It's been a year since Ara witnessed his creative process in the studio. She's seen and heard it all-the discussions he's had with co-writers and co-producers, the lyrics and the melodies that made the cut, and the ones that didn't. Ever since then, she's been trying to recreate his process, but she can't seem to match to it. So, the same time last year, she asked Jihoon himself to personally teach her how he gets all of those ideas and how to bring life into a random scramble of words on paper. He's been putting it off for quite some time now due to his busy schedule, but now that he finally has the time, Ara was back to pestering him about it.

"And I will, like I promised you!" Jihoon says enthusiastically. The two of them were on different sides of the studio-Ara was inside the recording booth, and Jihoon was outside, where the rest of the controls were. "I already prepared the song for you. You just have to sing it. Correct anything if you feel like it-that's why I printed out both the lyrics and the sheet music. This is _your_ song, Ara. I just wrote the lyrics."

Ara smiles at that. "Okay."

"You've heard the guide I recorded for you, right?"

"Yep," she answers.

"Anything you want to change?" he asks.

Ara looks at the sheets in front of her before speaking back into the mic. "Yeah," she says. Jihoon laughs at this as he shook his head, showing the slightest bit of fondness in his smile. "I mean, the lyrics are okay. They're great. I don't need to change them, but with the pacing... I don't really think this should be a ballad, you know?"

"Why do you say so?" asked Jihoon.

"I don't know..." says Ara. She picks up a pencil and starts to review the sheet music. "It's got meaningful lyrics, but they're not heavy enough to be a ballad. There's not much words to really emphasize. I could hear this song more with a faster pace, and a bit more synth." She scribbles some notes on the margins, and crosses out the time signatures. She changes them, as well as some notes on each measure.

"Synth?" Jihoon raises his eyebrows at her suggestion, but then again, he wasn't supposed to take any sort of control. Just the lyrics. "Okay, show me what you've got. I'll only record your vocals before anything else."

She nods before holding onto the sheet music.

> _My heart feels like the sharpest razor blade_
> 
> _I really hope this won't keep me away_
> 
> _'Cause I've been drowning here for days_
> 
> _Like a watercolor about to fade  
  
_

Ara looks back at Jihoon, who was just watching her intently with his chin resting on his palm. He beckons for her to keep going, so she does.

> _Every inch for me is there to trace_
> 
> _No secrets left here on my page_
> 
> _Underneath my skin I see a change_
> 
> _Blood raises right up to my face  
  
_

She pauses for a moment and counts four beats before she continues to the chorus. Jihoon notices that she's been counting everything-from the moment that she begins, to the very last beat. It was no doubt that she has a different approach to this song, and he was more than excited to hear it.

> _Bursting out, no I can't take it_
> 
> _You really wore me down_
> 
> _Read my mind just like I'm naked, there's no hiding now_
> 
> _I-I-I-I-I'm paper thin, paper thin_
> 
> _Paper thin, paper thin, paper thin..._

  
Ara begins to sing the second verse and it smoothly transitions to the second chorus, and Jihoon finally sees where she was going with the song (kind of). She retained the slight regression of the song towards the bridge, and she sings it with a softer, more hushed tone.

> _Slowly, you've been wearing me down_
> 
> _Pulling up my roots from the ground_
> 
> _The way I feel's so obvious now,_
> 
> _'Cause I'm paper thin in love with you...now.  
  
_

She smoothly coursesinto the final chorus, and adds a slight adlib by the end of it. Jihoon forgets to speak, so he gets startled when Ara calls for his attention. "I-uh, that was...that was amazing."

"You probably weren't even listening," Ara pouts.

"No, I was!" Jihoon assures her. "I could see now somehow where you're going with the song, but I want you to be more specific with your arrangement, since I feel like it's already in your head. I just need you to put it out here. Did you sing according to the time signature you gave yourself?"

"I'm pretty sure I did," says Ara. "If there's anything wrong, I can just record the parts I don't like again."

"Alright," says Jihoon, leaning back on his chair. Ara steps out of the booth, and he gives her his seat by the computer, where every single one of his popular songs were created. It was almost like his throne, since nobody else dared to sit on it. He didn't let other people do it easily, either, so she doesn't really get why he's lending her _that _seat, out of many others inside his large studio.

"Here? Really?" she asks just to make sure.

Jihoon nods. "You're the producer, right?"

"R-right..." says Ara. She clears her throat and makes her way to the seat as she familiarizes herself with the mixers and such, and in no time, she was already creating something for the intro. Jihoon leans over to see what she was doing, and she tries not to get distracted with how close they were with each other. She begins to layer her vocals over and smooth them out, and Jihoon gets startled when she speaks. "Wait."

"Ah!" he jumps. "S-sorry, what was that?"

"I-uh, I don't really like how I sound in this part, can I do it again?"

Jihoon blinks. "Y-yeah, sure..." He puts a hand up to the back of his neck before he returns to the seat near the recording booth. "Let's record that part at least twice so you have options."

And so they do, and Jihoon makes sure there was water beside her after she sings her bit. "You good?" he asks her. Ara only nods at him before returning back to the little corner where she edited her vocals. Jihoon plays both recordings, and they opted for the second one. The song wasn't even halfway done, but Jihoon could already tell that Ara already had an ending. He guessed that he finally found their difference with each other-Jihoon was a bit slow and precise with things, but often didn't plan things, which sometimes leads him to cramming some of his projects. However, Ara, on the other hand already knew every detail. She just had to put everything out.

And because of that, she was quick, too. After thirty minutes of arranging the instrumental, she took another thirty to smoothen everything out. Jihoon was used to looking over her shoulder to see her progress, but there wasn't a minute where she turned away from the computer screen. Not even when he said he was just going to get them both food while she worked on finishing the song, so when Ara finally figured everything out and was ready to play it for him, she was surprised to see that Jihoon wasn't behind her.

She was about to sulk again when the door opens with Jihoon holding two bags in one arm, and a litre of cola in the other. "Hey, you're done?"

"Yeah," she says.

"Okay, let's listen to it later! You've been working your ass off today, let's have dinner first."

"D-dinner?" Her eyes widened. They've been there since morning, and now they were going to have _dinner? _Did it really take her that long. "I'm sorry, you must've waited for so long..."

Jihoon turns up the lights in the studio and deactivates the moody neon lighting so that they could see what they were eating. He sets up the food by the small table beside the sofa that took up the space on the other half of the studio. "It's okay, really," he said. "I have to say, you're really dedicated with your work." He smiles at her as he opens up both of the food containers. "So, uh, do you want bulgogi or chicken?"

"Chicken, please," she says. Her stomach rumbles just in time, and Jihoon chuckles as he hands her a pair of chopsticks. They immediately dig into their food, and it was silent for a while until Jihoon suggests that they play what Ara had created as they ate. Ara takes a sip of her cola before she nods. Wiping the corners of her lips with the wet towelette that came with the various packets of condiments, she then stands up to go to the computer. She looks over teasingly to Jihoon. "Are you sure you really want to hear it?"

With his mouth still full of food, Jihoon struggles to say, _"Yes, I am!" _and it comes out garbled. Ara giggles before she swipes the mouse over to the **PLAY **button, and the song begins to play. While Ara avoids eye contact until the end of the song, all Jihoon wants to tell her was that she's done a good job and that she's totally welcome to sit down on his and play with more songs as she pleases. It was totally different from what he would usually do, but it was good. _Really _good. Despite the amount of layering of effects on the vocals and how busy the instrumental sounded on its own, everything fell accordingly to plan. Plus, Ara looked totally happy with what she's done.

"Is it good?" Ara asks him. "I know I need a lot more work with the emotion attached to the lyrics, but-"

"Hey," Jihoon says, standing up. "I assure you. It sounds great. Beautiful, even." He didn't even realize that he was holding both of her hands as he spoke, so when he realizes what he's done, he feels his ears turn red.

"You think the song's beautiful?" Ara asks with a huge smile on her face.

He smiles back at her and looks into her eyes. "Yes. You're beautiful."

"What?"

__Jihoon lets go of her hands and turns to the computer as he clears his throat rather harshly. "I was talking to the song!" he says nervously. He rests his head onto the desk that had the lyrics and the music sheets all over it and talks to his prized possessions. "You're beautiful," he says again, but his eyes were still on Ara as he said it.


End file.
